“Emil!” I screamed, pushing the car door open and moving toward him. He stopped immediately, looking back over his shoulder at me. “Get away!” Without hesitation, he turned around and started running to the car. Aaron followed closely behind him. And the shadows weren’t far behind. I thought they’d both make it back to the car without a problem—until Emil slipped. He went down, skating across the ice on the ground, slowing his momentum while the shadows were gaining.

I had to do something. I knew it was dangerous to use my powers outright when no one was supposed to know about them, especially undefined shadow figures. I needed a way to disguise them. I couldn’t do that by telling the shadows to freeze and holding them in place with my mind. Plus, I didn’t think I could hold that many of them off.

Use the air. The voice said.

I furrowed my brow for a moment, but felt a sudden cold breeze hit me. I could control people, could I control the weather as well?

You have the power.

The voice had never failed me before. Trying couldn’t hurt. I knew it would be easier to protect the three of us—me, Emil, and Aaron—than to try and stop the shadows ten feet away. I wasn’t even sure I could stop them. Maybe they were like ghosts and could float through objects. I guessed I’d find out soon. I focused on the air, thinking about the snow swirling faster and faster, attempting to create a blizzard of my own that they couldn’t see us through.

The air grew colder. The wind kicked up as the air froze and snow crystals started to move around me in a circular pattern. The flakes were like pieces fitting together. I watched them fall into place, all the while thinking about protecting me, Emil, and Aaron from the shadows trying to attack us. But instead of a blizzard, I seemed to be building a snow wall, barricading the shadows behind it. So my powers worked, but they were about as obedient as a spoiled Pomeranian.

The last flake fell softly into place. A snow wall I built in my mind was handy, though not what I’d intended. I wished there was a better way to control my abilities. Emil and Aaron stared at me in stunned silence as the shadows beyond the wall stopped in their tracks. So they couldn’t pass through it! Evie, one; shadows, zero. I’d built the supernatural equivalent of a road block.

Emil reached me, stooping to pick my pretty blue wrap up off the wet, snow crusted ground. I didn’t even notice it had fallen. He gently placed it back over my shoulders and quickly guided me to the car. The heat from his hands radiated through the wrap to warm my cool skin.

Emil and I slid into the backseat. Aaron quickly turned the Mercedes around, peeling out. I looked out the window. My wall of snow remained in place as we passed the shadows; I got the eerie feeling they were watching us leave. As we turned onto a main road with traffic and plenty of people, I exhaled deeply. I glanced at Emil. His lined expression was less than comforting. His eyes slid to my shoulders again as we got on the freeway, and he pursed his lips.

There were so many things I wanted to talk to Emil about, but wasn’t sure what was legal to say in front of Aaron. So, we both sat with our thoughts for the rest of the drive. We passed a lighted statue of a blue horse with wicked red eyes. I wondered if the devil horse had something to do with the Denver Broncos. Maybe they were discouraging tourists, and wanted travelers to feel like a poorly dyed Ringwraith would be following them home.

The brightly lit tent roof of the Denver airport came into view. We pulled into the area of the airport reserved for private jets. Aaron opened the door. I scooted out, the cold instantly attaching itself to the metal of my necklace, chilling my neck. Emil stood to the side with Aaron, speaking in hushed tones for a few moments before following me up the stairs of the plane.

Jean brought us both water. I waited until we were in the air and alone in the cabin to start asking questions. “Why do you think they were after us?”

Emil shook his head. “I have no idea. I don’t even know what they were.”

“Shadows,” I said. “Like the one I saw last summer.” Emil knew about that one.

“And you thought they were dangerous?”

“I know they were.”

“How?”

I’d told Alex and Emil about the voice in the cave. It was another thing they were trying to research on their own since we weren’t sure who could be trusted within the Amaranthine. “I heard the same voice tonight that I heard in the cave when I was trying to rescue you and Alex from Caleb’s Clan. The only time I’ve heard the voice before was when danger was present. It helped me protect you, Alex, and myself. Tonight, the voice warned me that they were shadows. I didn’t need more evidence than that.”

He considered for a moment. “And you were able to block the shadows with your powers?”

I nodded again. Though, I wasn’t really sure if my powers had blocked them. They didn’t try to break through the barrier. If they had, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to stop them.

“I’m glad. I just wish we understood your capabilities, and the ramifications of using your powers, better.”

“What are the shadows, Emil? How did they know where to find us?”

He took a deep breath. “I don’t know. We’ll talk to Alex about it when we get back.”

I lifted my water and scowled into it. Nothing was more frustrating than knowing we had enemies, but not knowing anything about the enemy, what they wanted, or how to stop them. Luckily, Emil was about to provide me a distraction.

Emil shrugged out of his jacket. When he’d slipped, his jacket had torn. He took it off to look at it. The shoulder of his shirt was ripped too.

Seeing the tear and the peek at Emil’s naked skin made me think about his vowmark—the web-shaped mark every Daevos member had. The size of the vowmark represented how many souls the Daevos member had taken. I’d felt part of Emil’s vowmark through his shirt when we were making out one time, but I hadn’t ever seen it—at least, not in this life.

“Your vowmark represents all the souls you’ve taken, right?”

Emil nodded.

“What did I think it was when we were married?” I asked.

“You didn’t pay much attention to it,” he said, inspecting the hole in his jacket sleeve.

I furrowed my brow, silently cursing the wrinkles I was going to get from all the eyebrow raising and furrowing I’d been doing since Emil and Alex came into my life. “How is that possible? I was your wife! I’m pretty sure I saw you naked.”

He smirked. “At least once a day.”

I rolled my eyes, trying to fight back my embarrassment.

He continued, “I wore long sleeved shirts and jackets at the time—like all the other men. It’s not like the lighting was spectacular at the time; we used candlelight.”

“That doesn’t sound like me. I think I would have noticed.”

Emil tilted his head, grinning. “During the times you might have seen it, you weren’t really interested in my arm.”

I tried to force back my blush…again. I didn’t succeed.

“You did ask about it once.”

“And?”

“I told you it was a scar from my childhood.”

That made sense. I would have accepted that answer now if I didn’t know better, so my Cassandra incarnation wouldn’t have had any reason to suspect Emil was lying. “Can I see your vowmark now?”

“No.”

“Will I ever get to see it?”

He frowned. “I’m sure you will eventually.”

“You don’t seem happy about that.”

Emil lightly ran a hand over the bump on his upper right arm. “It’s not something I’m proud of, Evie.”

“Did it get bigger when you took the souls of Caleb’s Clan?”

Emil thinned his lips. “No, it didn’t. I’m not sure why. All I can think is that it didn’t affect the vowmark because the souls taken were Daevos members.”

“What happens to a soul after it’s taken?” I asked. “Does it just cease to exist?”

“Kind of,” Emil answered. “Their memories are destroyed, but like all things with strong emotions attached, traces of some memories still linger. Those traces are held in a place called the Nothing. It’s said to be so dark that light can’t even penetrate it. Cold and damp, the Nothing is surrounded by blackness, trails of memories snaking by like smoke.”

That didn’t sound pleasant. I liked light, heat, and having my memories intact. “If their memories still exist, what’s to stop a soul from coming back?”

“They’d have to find the remnants from all of their own memories. Since only traces of those memories are held in the Nothing, and there are infinite amounts of those traces scattered around, it would be impossible.”

That made me feel a little better. “What about the good souls who are ready to move on and stop the reincarnation process?”

“They go to the Bliss. I’m told it’s a place of unimaginable beauty. Souls and memories are all still intact. Your experiences from all of your previous lifetimes are there, a part of your Bliss. You can revisit those memories on your own, or relive them with your soul mate. It’s different for every soul, but it’s said the Bliss is a combination of the places your soul was the most at peace. When two soul mates go to the Bliss together, their space is made of a blend of the places where they were both the happiest.”

My thoughts drifted to what my Bliss would look like. There would be mountains, and sand dunes, four-wheelers and Mustangs. I thought about Alex and Emil. I wondered how their worlds, their happiest moments, would fit with mine?

Emil shifted so he could see me better and put his arm around me, pulling me closer. He lightly ran his hand through my hair. “When did your soulmark start changing?”

Damn. He’d probably seen it when he helped me put the wrap back on. I should have been more aware, but I was kind of busy holding off some evil shadows. “I noticed it after we fought Caleb. I think it had something to do with using my powers for the first time. It hasn’t changed since.”

Emil rubbed my neck lightly. “It does have something to do with you being a Tracker, but it shouldn’t have changed until you’re activated by another Tracker.”

I lifted my shoulder slightly. “Maybe the voice I heard in the cave did it. That’s when my powers started to work, so maybe the voice caused it.”

Emil thought about that for a minute. “Maybe,” he said, reluctantly.

We landed after the plane ride and pulled into my driveway five minutes later. The lights were on, so that meant Jasmine was home. After the night we’d had, I wasn’t up for another argument with her. I hated that such a romantic date had been interrupted by the shadows.

I got out of Emil’s Black BMW and he followed me to the door. I unlatched my clutch, pulling my keys out. I moved my hand to put the key in the lock, but Emil’s hand cupped mine, stopping me. I looked up, our gazes held in silence. Emil reached his other hand up, brushing his fingers lightly from my temple to my jaw. “I’m sorry, Evie. That wasn’t how I wanted to end the night.”

Before the shadows had shown up, the night had been perfect. His thoughtful planning, the romantic ice castles, and beautiful music had made me fall even more in love with Emil. I wasn’t happy it had ended with a crisis either. I lifted my shoulder slightly, noticing the warmth of his hand on my face against the biting cold. “It happens. I’m sure it won’t be the last time.”

He looked into my eyes. “I’d like to tell you otherwise, but I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.”

“Probably for the best,” I said as he moved a little closer.

“But what I can promise is I’ll make it up to you.”

My voice was barely a whisper, “You will?”

Emil stepped forward again, his chest pressing into mine. Still holding my gaze, he wrapped his arm around me, resting it on my lower back as he pulled me to him. He let his other hand continue trailing lightly down my face to my neck, where his fingers found the beautiful necklace he’d given me to wear. I breathed in a ragged breath as my heart beat faster. His eyes met mine and held. I’d declared the no dating rule three months ago, so the thought of kissing Emil again made me a little swoony.

Emil lifted his hands to the back of my head. I felt gentle tugs as he deftly removed the pins from my hair. I wrapped my arms around his neck, tilting my head to the side. Our lips met in a sweet kiss, though months of pent up pressure quickly turned the kiss from soft to aggressive. My soulmark was on fire. I’d been waiting for this for far too long. Emil’s grip on my neck tightened as I pressed my hands into his hair. I couldn’t breathe, but no longer cared. I was kissing Emil for the first time in months, and it was amazing.

He moved his arms around my stomach, hugging me to him and lifting me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his waist.

Emil used the side of the house for leverage, holding me there as we continued to kiss. One hand went back to my chest, tracing the area around my necklace, and following it down to the neckline of my dress. His fingers brushed the line over my cleavage as I sighed. I let my hands explore the muscles of his back, my fingers clawing at his shirt, pulling the fabric tight across his chest. I tugged a little too hard and heard a rip as some of his shirt buttons clattered to the ground, revealing his hard, smooth chest and abs. I licked my lips, and decided we were going to need somewhere more private than the front porch. The last thing I wanted was to be caught by a nosy neighbor. I was about to suggest we go inside and find something more comfortable than lumber to be braced against when I heard the squeaking hinges of the front door.

The door swung open revealing Alex, a dark silhouette against the light pouring out of the house. His lips were pursed in a fine line, muscles tight, hands clenched at his side. Emil and I both froze. We’d been caught with our hands in much more interesting places than a cookie jar. Emil loosened his grip. With blood rushing to my cheeks, I quickly untangled my legs from Emil’s torso. I stood, grimacing as Emil’s button casualties cracked loudly under my heels. Alex’s jaw tightened at the sound. I smoothed my hair, though I doubted it helped. It probably looked like I’d been plastered against a wall during a tornado—a tornado named Emil. I glanced down at my dress making sure everything was where it should be. I couldn’t check my rear, but aside from the wrinkles, my front showed little signs of scandal.

Alex took in my dress, stopping at the necklace on my chest and holding there. A muscle ticked under his eye. When he got to my hair, his whole body tensed even more. It was a good thing he was immortal; his blood pressure looked like it was at dangerous levels. He shifted his gaze to Emil, whose clothes were in a much worse state than mine thanks to me trying to remove his shirt like a badger. The anger that flashed across Alex’s face was reflected in Emil’s as a silent conversation took place between them. Judging by their stony expressions, their unspoken words contained a lot of expletives. Finally, Alex moved his eyes back to meet mine. “Come inside. Now.”